Overnight distress

For some residents, the CSX deal that made Worcester a regional freight rail hub has had a jarring effect on sleep.

The uptick in noise is real, and CSX said it is seeking solutions.

Monday night, a CSX official listened to neighbors’ complaints about whistles, idling engines, screeches and slams associated with railcars being coupled, and other nighttime noises from the tracks and rail yard. Sleep disruption seems to be worst around the 400 block of Lake Avenue, near an Atlas Street warehouse that is a customer of CSX.

Maurice O’Connell, CSX vice president of government affairs, told the well-attended community meeting that the company is working to mitigate the noise.

Efforts focus on tweaks to the schedule involving the warehouse, so trains service it earlier in the evening. That could involve changes for CSX crews in Westboro and elsewhere along the line, Mr. O’Connell said. Compounding the problem is that CSX shares miles of busy track with commuter trains, and no longer owns the rail line between Framingham and Worcester.

It’s a good idea, and would help. But there’s no guarantee the feat can be pulled off, nor that the schedule shifts would be reliable every night. Weather and other factors push and pull on railroad timetables.

CSX should be commended for taking the problem seriously. We urge it to consider sound barriers, effective and attractive for urban use, as a passive approach to the problem, in addition to the scheduling measures being worked on.

Meanwhile, sleep-deprived residents can take comfort knowing CSX has heard them — and not, for once, the other way around.